Izuku barely got any sleep. He'd been so invested in his note taking, that his only indication of how much time had passed was his mom waking up— which meant it was almost six in the morning. He had slowly dragged the covers over himself, before promptly falling asleep— when his alarm blared, shocking him out of his brief slumber at seven-thirty.
"Today is here! Today is here! Today is-" With a loud slap on the All Might themed digital clock, a sore green-haired teen sluggishly prepared to get ready to go to school for the day.
'I need to get a new alarm.' He thought with an audible grunt.
He opened his closet, unflinching at the intrusive presence of a full-scale gumball machine.
"Thanks Paradox…" He grumbled, reaching for his uniform.
That was going to be difficult to explain to his mom— among other obvious things, of course.
He wasn't naive— Izuku was aware that the secret of the Omnitrix would have to come out at some point. The circumstances surrounding how he obtained such a device would likely be altered in some way or another. Right now he was too dang tired to care enough to formulate an elaborate lie that might convince anyone.
Thankfully, his uniform sleeve covered up a good portion of his wrist, making it easy to conceal the Omnitrix. Waving to his mom as he jogged out the door, he chomped into his half-eaten piece of toast. The walk down to the train station was usually super crowded, but he lucked out. Apparently, aside from the people who were already on the train, the place seemed oddly deserted.
Once he entered, he surveyed the scene, finding an open seat next to a girl who looked to be around his age, wearing a familiar uniform.
"H-hi, is this seat taken by any c-chance?" Even in his sleep-deprived state, he managed to stutter.
The girl in question with purple hair and cords hanging from her ears didn't bother looking at him as she answered:
"Nope."
"O-oh. Is it alright if I sit here?"
"Go ahead."
He nodded happily, sliding in beside her, hugging his backpack to his chest.
"I haven't seen you on this route, d-do you go to school around the Musutafu area?"
The girl looked mildly irritated by his probing, but she responded to him nonetheless.
"My family moved here just last week. I'm going to a new school- it's called Aldera?"
"Woah! What a coincidence! I go there too! If you aren't familiar with the way there I could help you!" He offered kindly, smiling mirthfully.
He was gearing up to ask her something else, when her earlobe suddenly shot out, pointed directly at his face. He couldn't focus on nerding out about her quirk while he felt mildly threatened.
"Look, I get your trying to be nice and all, but I am not in the mood to talk right now. Ok? So leave me alone, please." She stated sternly, staring at him straight on now, a frustrated glare present on her face.
"Ah- sorry! I'll stop!" Izuku mumbled, crestfallen.
Man, he really sucked at this 'making friends' thing that everyone seems to rave about. To help distract himself from his emotional turmoil, he pulled his hero analysis journal from his backpack and began jotting a few more notes down.
"Can you be quiet?" The girl from before hissed.
"Eh?"
"My quirk makes my hearing super sensitive. I can hear you muttering over there."
He blinked at her owlishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"S-sorry, I didn't know!" He started rummaging through his bag again.
Just as the girl was about to give up and simply move to another seat that had opened up nearby, she was greeted by the sight of earplugs.
"I-I always carry some with me! With your ultra-attentive hearing quirk, something as simple as a train ride would probably feel like torture, huh?" He chuckled.
"Ummm…" She droned on unsurely.
"I haven't used these ones yet, and I think you need them more than I do, so here." He dropped the earplugs in her newly opened palm.
She looked so taken aback, she found it difficult to compose what her next words should be.
"Thank you…?" She trailed off, prompting him to respond.
"Midoriya Izuku!" He gave a curt bow.
"Jiro Kyouka." She nodded, a faint smile tracing her lips, amused by his earnest personality.
"These aren't heavy duty like the ones I normally use, but they'll have to do for now." She said as she put them in.
"I'm just glad I could help!" He stated honestly.
The two teens relaxed into their seats, now far more content with their situation than they were a few minutes prior.
'Even though I got basically no sleep- maybe today won't be so bad?' Izuku thought hopefully.
His hopes were quickly dashed, however, when three heavily armored men in black balaclavas marched into the train car. In perfect synchronization, they shed their duffel bags, exposing their hidden cargo— sub machine guns. A passenger across from them screamed, urging the bulkiest of the men to raise the weapon at their eye level, silencing them in an instant.
"Try anything and we won't hesitate to shoot."
The tallest to the trio signalled to his comrades.
"Tie em up."
'Correction— today sucks.'
…
Toshinori Yagi coughed into his handkerchief as he subtly limped through the hallways of UA. He was in his skinny form, of course, as seeing the number one hero All Might in the middle of the school day would surely lead to a lot of unwanted commotion. He removed the bloodied cloth from his mouth, pocketing it. Finding his destination, he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe, not bothering to announce his presence verbally.
"Toshinori? Here for your weekly check-up so soon?" Recovery Girl said as she set down the cup of tea she'd been sipping from on her desk, hopping off her chair and moving to grab the required medical supplies.
"I was under the impression you thought doing this bloodwork was pointless. Go on then- take a seat where you'll feel the most comfortable." She huffed.
"I pushed myself really hard the other day- I don't think I'll be able to hold my hero form any longer than an hour at a time now." He shook his head, tone grim.
The nurse paused at that, before resuming to prod his exposed bicep with an alcohol wipe. He didn't flinch as the needle sunk into him, extracting a deep crimson sample. When she was finished, he quickly rolled down his shirt sleeve.
"Going so soon?" She called out to him, prompting the blonde man to halt at the doorway.
"I… have a lot of things on my mind at the moment, Chiyo." He said ambiguously.
"Oh? Is it something even little old me can't handle?"
Toshinori blinked at the nurse's blunt statement— she was obviously trying to get him to open up about his problems. Just as he was about to bid her goodbye, she tapped his ankle with her cane, making him jump slightly. How had she snuck up on him like that? Maybe he really was in worse condition than he thought.
"You've bore the weight of the sky on your shoulders for decades now, Toshinori. It's not healthy to keep every emotion trapped inside of you like a shaken up soda bottle waiting to burst."
He flinched, which didn't go unnoticed by the older women.
"Sit down." It was a command.
"Alright…" He grumbled in defeat, nestling himself back onto a cozy lounge chair.
The Recovery Girl reached out for the tea kettle, pouring a cup out for her guest.
"It's rude to stare you know." She lightly chided him.
"Err, sorry." He sighed. "I just… you heard about that sludge villain I chased down? The one that took that young boy hostage?"
"Mmhmm. It was all over the news. The villain was able to mimic the quirk of whoever he was trying to possess- if I am not mistaken- and that boy's quirk sure was powerful." She commented, earning a nod from the man.
"But I can't help but see why you are so torn up about it? You saved his life, did you not?"
"I- I did, but I was more thinking about the boy who tried to run in and save him before I did." He coughed.
"That's right- there was another one wasn't there?" She shook her head at the memory.
"What he did was incredibly foolish. Not to mention suicidal!" She set her tea cup down with a clink. "I don't care how strong his quirk is, he shouldn't have ever put himself in that situation to begin with!"
"Yeah that's- well that's the thing. I met him before all that even happened. Turns out he's quirkless."
The nurse considered him for a moment.
"Then he's just suicidal."
"He asked me if a quirkless person- someone like him- could ever hope to be a hero like me..." He continued, rubbing his temples.
"...So? What did you tell the boy? I don't believe you mentioned a name?"
"I told him no, and his name was Midoriya, if I recall correctly." His dark sunken eyes met the nurses' squinted one's.
"Was I wrong for saying he needed to be realistic? I mean- in my case- I was lucky enough to run into Nana when I did!"
"Toshi… you big muscle-headed idiot..." She muttered, shaking her head sadly.
"I can't fault you for telling him off," she admitted, "but the fact is not everyone can be a hero- quirkless people aren't exclusive in that category. You undoubtedly crushed Midoriya's dreams when you told him that… but I assume you're well aware of the things you said to him and how they can be interpreted."
"I am." He swallowed guiltily. "I was at my limit that day, after I finished admonishing him and let him know what I thought about his question. It was only when I saw Midoriya, rushing in to save that other boy- with no power of his own and no hope of stopping the villain- did I find the last ember of strength burning inside of me to leap to their rescue. I failed them both in that regard."
"He inspired you to act. There is no shame in that." She attempted to correct him.
"He did. I even considered giving him One For All afterwards, but like I said earlier, I had passed my limit, and was unable to go searching for him."
"So that's what got your heart in shambles." She wrung her hands together in front of her.
"I feel bad about what I said to him. But I don't know if I could shovel so much weight onto a kid's shoulders quite like that. Given the statistics surrounding quirkless people these days, there is no doubt in my mind that he is severely bullied. That kind of emotional baggage and the world's strongest quirk on top of that? I would be doing him more harm than good."
"I see your points, Toshinori, but I also can't help but think you're projecting. You too, were once quirkless. That never stopped you from wanting to be a hero though- if anything, it made your will tougher- more resolute. One For All enhanced your best attributes and gave you all the power you would ever need to act on them. How can you make such assumptions about Midoriya when you knew him for less than an hour?" Recovery Girl's logic and reasoning was sound as always.
"I- no, you're definitely right about that, but-"
"-But what, Toshinori? It's a simple question."
"Simple how?"
"Do you think Midoriya can be a hero?"
"What? We just spent the past five minutes talking about how he's quirk-"
"- I'm not talking about quirks. I'm asking you if you think the boy can be a hero. Don't play dumb with me, I get enough of that with all the reckless kids at this school already. You know what I mean."
"Do I… think young Midoriya can be a hero…?"
…
The two teens were tied together using rope, then subsequently shoved towards the rear end of the train car, alongside the other terrified passengers. Throughout the whole exchange, Izuku had been muttering at light speeds, considering the negatives and positives of how this was going to play out. He still had no idea what these villains wanted, or what would require taking numerous hostages in order to achieve it. As far as he knew, everyone outside the train was none the wiser about their situation...
"…Hey! What are you going on about? What's the Omnitrix? We have more important things to worry about here!" Jiro whispered irately over her shoulder, making him cease all muttering.
"I muttered that out loud, didn't I?" He groaned, and he would've facepalmed if not for his arms being bound.
"You really enjoy getting into your own head, don't you?"
"I suppose I do… but I also think I can figure out a way to get us out of this-"
"-What!? Are you crazy!? They have guns pointed at all of us! If you make a scene they- they won't hesitate to kill us!" Her quiet voice quivered at the end, and it was in that moment did Izuku realize her foul attitude seemingly coming back full force from earlier was simply her way of coping with stress.
Jiro was scared. Somehow, this only further emboldened Izuku to reassure her of his abilities. He took a deep breath.
He let it out.
"I- I might have a plan. Do you trust me?"
"You might have a plan!? What does that even mean!? Trust you- I literally just met you!"
"Fair point." He couldn't shrug even if he wanted to.
"Look, Jiro," He tried again, "We don't know what these villain's intentions are- there very well could be more of them within this train."
She slowed her fidgeting upon hearing his words.
"My uh, my quirk- it's related to this thing I mentioned before while I was muttering: the Omnitrix." He looked over at her, turning slightly red at how close their faces were to each other.
"It's like a support item, you know about those, r-right?"
"Like Present Mic's Directional Speaker System?" She offered inquisitively, surprising him a little.
"Actually, yes- almost exactly like that." He made sure to keep a subtle eye trained on the villain's who watched over them during their conversation.
"For me, it's a watch that I wear around my left wrist. I noticed earlier that your earlobes-"
"-Jacks." She automatically corrected him.
"... Jacks, can move about freely via your coordination. Do you think you can reach down my wrist and-"
"-You want me to activate the Omnitrix?"
"Precisely..."
It wasn't difficult to spot the internal conflict going on within the girl's head right now. Then, a look of indignation—
"OK. What'll happen after I turn it on?"
He exhaled in relief.
"You will hear a faint hum, after that, push down on the main dial."
"Uh huh..."
"Then… I can't be entirely accurate about what will happen next, but-"
"-Are you seriously considering risking all of our lives because you want to play a hero?" The venom in her voice was unmistakable.
"I've been in more life-threatening situations in the past two days than I would like to admit, Jiro. So trust me when I say I won't let anyone be hurt if I can't help it. I'll save everyone." His eyes had a hard, determined glint to them.
"Jiro, please. We probably don't have much time as it is."
The punk girl clenched her jaw, obviously still struggling on what she should do here. Her posture shot upright when she felt a hand sneak its way into hers.
"You don't have to do this. I can't ask you to put yourself in danger over a gamble. That would be selfish of me. We can watch this play out, try and get through this, and go from there?" He sighed as he felt her hand squeeze him back.
'She was too young for this, damnit.'
"Fuck it. Don't disappoint me, Green."
"Green-?" He didn't have time to finish that, as a jack coiled around his arm, finding the notches he had referred to, she coaxed the watch into activating, illuminating the small space between them in viridian light. The jack slapped the dial downwards.
Izuku had his first transformation less than half a day ago, and the sleep deprivation he suffered due to his late night excursion in tandem with his first ever experience having any powers of any kind— he was still reeling from the sensation that overtook him in the span of a mere second.
While Jellytronic made his body more pliable and stretchy, this transformation appeared to be knotting and tightening his muscles together. His skeletal system hollowed out, yet hardened to a significant point. His skin was coated in a thin sheen of black and spiky sky blue fur. His forearms and calves developed sharp ridges that fanned out, improving his aerodynamic physique.
By the time the transformation completed, He had already burst out of his rope bondage with Jiro, startling the villains who were holding them captive. Leaving them almost no time to react, Izuku rushed the trio, swiping their guns and snapping them over his knee, all in the span of a few seconds.
"What-"
"-The-"
"-FUCK just happened!?" The tallest of the villains hollered, looking back and forth between his now empty hands and useless weapons littering the floor.
"Wow! Super speed!" He gushed, then blushing slightly at how high pitched his voice sounded, before remembering where he was and adopting a more combative stance— or at least something he thought mirrored one.
"Kill him!" The smallest commanded them.
While watching his hand flex he growled: "I can work with this."
In a flash of blue, a fist buried itself in the shortest villain's gut, followed up by a sharp elbow over their temple— folding the man over and effectively taking him out of the fight. His two comrades, however, were a bit more prepared than he was. Sending a punch at the tallest villain's face, he gasped when he felt their arms snaking around him like a cobra constricting its prey. The man's neck slingshot backwards, propelled by the momentum of Izuku's punch, then after stretching considerably— as if they were made from rubber— smashed it directly into Izuku's skull.
Stars exploded into his vision as he cradled his throbbing head. He wouldn't find time for respite, however, when the bulkiest villain's arms locked him in a chokehold from behind. He struggled as the rubber quirked villain from before bombarded him with a flurry of elastic haymakers.
Suddenly, almost like Izuku was watching a scene from an action movie occurring right in front of him, the villain's hand slowed, moving at speeds comparable to that of molasses. Blinking with his now one good eye, seeing as the other was swollen shut from taking such a harsh beating, he felt his hand once again involuntarily flex— and he allowed his alien's instinct to take over.
In real time, the crowd of hostages looked on in a mixture of horror and bafflement as Izuku's sprang claws from his fingertips, digging them excruciatingly in the bulky villain's upper thigh (which just so happened to be the one part of his attire that didn't have an armor over it). The sudden introduction of pain into the larger man allowed him a wide enough gap to slip out from his hold, rolling to the side. The rubber villain wasn't able to stop his blow from landing, whereas it had initially been intended for Izuku, it now struck the large villain in their lower jaw— essentially uppercutting them.
Everyone stared in awkward silence as the largest villain slumped over and crashed to the floor in a heap.
Now enraged by how their plans were being foiled by one random, extremely fast civilian, the lanky man attempted to snatch one of the hostages— only to be met by a blue heel to the cheek. With no prompting whatsoever, Izuku sliced through each hostage's rope, freeing everyone, before using the leftover containment tool to trap the villain against a support pole.
"Thank you sir!" A lady crawled over to him, bowing incessantly.
"U-um, it's no big deal miss! Honestly!" He tried to wave her off, before Jiro stomped up to him, jabbing a finger into his admittedly really sore chest.
"What the hell was that!?" She exclaimed.
"What?"
"You just beat the snot out of three villains! Or was it two? Since that guy basically knocked out his own teammate? Whatever- there was a moment there that I'm pretty sure we all thought you were going to lose but-"
"-I hate to interrupt you two, but I think we have more pressing issues." An elderly man sarcastically inserted himself in between them.
"He's right! I need to see if there are more hostages!"
Speed walking to the door leading into the neighboring train car, he was confused as a jack wrapped around his arm.
"Look Mi- uh, Green..." She didn't know why she corrected herself there, but for whatever the reason may have been— Izuku appeared to appreciate the distinction.
"...I can tell you how many villains are in the next train car." She supplied, sticking her other jack in the wall beside her, she focused for a few seconds while humming.
"Well?"
"Two of them."
"Thanks for the tip." He kicked down the door, sprinting inside and swiftly dealing with the villains.
"Four in this one, be extra careful."
"Three."
"Two Again."
This trend would continue for the next five train cars, with Jiro preemptively warning Izuku of how many villains he would have to battle so he could strategize against it. In total, he had taken care of seventeen villains on their descent to the front of the train. The black and blue alien was ready to end this conflict once and for all, when a loud bang emanated from the door beyond them.
Wasting no time, Izuku broke through the final barrier, only to find that the train conductor was crying on the floor and bleeding from a leg wound. Checking on him was his first instinct above all else, urging him to make the mistake of putting himself in a defenseless position, indicated by the solid thunk of a cold metal gun barrel resting itself against his forehead. As slowly as he could manage in his hyperactive form, he raised his arms to signify his surrender.
Gazing up at the villain, splitting down the middle of the barrel, flinching when he heard the clinking of the bullet being loaded into the chamber, he noticed two things;
One, he could slightly open his left eye now.
Two, the villain had only half his face covered in a mask to protect his identity… which seemed rather redundant. On the exposed portion of his face, he appeared to be a normal man; a glistening red eye with shaggy dirty blonde hair, and he could tell the man was snarling by the way his lip curved oddly behind the curve of the half-mask.
"Who the hell are you and how did you defeat all my men so easily?" They said coldly, stoically— the kind of undertone that brings with it a level of authority and respect.
"I-I-Iz…" Izuku was all but paralyzed by fear.
Sure, he understood that he was way faster than everyone else on the train thus far, but he'd always had the element of surprise to aid him. He couldn't be sure if he was fast enough to dodge bullet fire. He might've looked scared out of his mind, given that his legs were trembling pitifully.
"It's not a hard question to answer." He pressed the barrel further into his forehead, eliciting a soft whimper from the speedster, forcing him back to his knees.
"Here, I'll start for you: I'm Shirai." His one exposed eye drills into his soul, unwaveringly.
"Now you go."
"S-S-S-Slipstream!" He squeaked out, prompting the villain to raise a brow questioningly.
"Slipstream?" Shirai mused evilly, testing how it rolled off the tongue a few times.
"I must say you're quite impressive, Slipstream. With a quirk like that, it makes me wonder why I've never heard of you before now." He tapped the barrel against him in a hushing manner.
"You're quick. But not quick enough to dodge a bullet, is that right? That's why you look like you're about to piss yourself?" He grinned, taking delight in watching Izuku squirm.
His eye shimmered red momentarily.
'What was that? Could it be- his quirk?' Izuku mentally noted.
"I'll tell ya what Slipstream, if you can avoid being shot in the next ten seconds, I'll let you live."
"Huh!?"
"Clocks ticking!" He yelled theatrically as he leapt backwards, readjusting his grip on his pistol.
Now realizing what the villain intended to do, Izuku sped to the far corner of the train car, hopping to various places along the way to avoid gunfire. He narrowly escaped being clipped and outright killed multiple times, as he began to notice what was so peculiar about Shirai's shooting patterns; The bullets were hitting places where he was about to be, and forcing him to backpedal in order to find another zone for safety. It's like he knew what Izuku was going to do, before he even did it. At one point in order to escape, he had latched to the ceiling of the train car, hanging only by the claws of his finger and toes.
'Prediction? Could that be his quirk?'
Just as the ten seconds were about to expire, he felt an overwhelming instinctual desire to look to his left. His eyes widened upon seeing Jiro standing in the doorway. Understanding what Shirai's obvious intention was, Izuku dashed to tackle the girl out of the way– but he wasn't fast enough to save himself, yelping as the metal drilled into his side.
He gasped, losing control over his momentum, slamming into the window, shattering the glass and allowing for the entry of the roaring wind from outside to fill the cabin. He landed on the floor with a sickening thump. Clutching his wound tightly as he curled in on himself, trying to minimize the pain as much as he could manage. He stared up at Shirai with bleary eyes as the man frowned down upon him disappointedly.
"W-why are you d-doing this?" He wetly coughed, trying to ignore the purple fluid which was pooling around him.
Without giving him a verbal response, Shirai removed the mask that covered half his face, revealing what he had so mysteriously chosen to hide. Split down the middle of his face with a tattooed line separating them, showed horribly disfigured flesh. He looked like a burn victim.
"Heroes ain't shit in this world. They walk around, acting all high and mighty, with those fake smiles on their faces…" He stalked around, gesturing with his gun for emphasis. "...While they get praised for their acts of heroism, virtue, and value- what is left for the rest of us? What happens when someone's reputation is more important than their livelihood? Eh? Have you ever stopped to consider that one, Slipstream?" He tapped his temple with the butt of his pistol.
"That doesn't justify… whatever it is you're doing."
"When the number two hero burns down your home and scars you for life, and you're treated as nothing more than collateral damage by the courts- then you might begin to see where I'm coming from." He whipped the alien boy's face with the back of his hand, wiping the purple stain off on his leather jacket.
"This railroad is only partially completed. We're headed straight for downtown Tokyo, and our intended destination is-"
"...Endeavors agency." Izuku filled in the blank, trepidation causing him to shudder.
He remembered reading just last week about how Endeavor's agency released an official statement directed at the city of Tokyo for choosing to construct a railroad right next to their place of residence. They called it 'extremely inconvenient,' and 'far too much in the way for everyday hero work.' The pro himself was currently in a legal battle to have the tracks moved elsewhere.
"Wow, you're smarter than I thought you'd be, I'll give you that." He rubbed his chin.
"We'll be taking a one way trip to hell with that bastard Endeavor."
"W-what about all the innocent people on this train!? You'll let them off it before r-right?" He spoke, utterly horrified by the man's reveal.
"B-but they had nothing to do with this! You can't take all these people- your own men included- w-with you like-" He gaped.
"-Like what?" He pressed the barrel into his forehead again. "Collateral damage perhaps? Is that what you were going to say?"
"N-no I was going to s-say-!" Before he could finish his thought, a jack pierced Shirai's only good eye, causing the man to screech and fall backwards, clutching his face in agony. His pistol had fallen to the wayside, where Jiro hastily picked it up and shakily aimed it at the trembling man.
"Stay down asshole!" Then, after several seconds of the man putting up no fight whatsoever, she realized the villain was in no shape to do anything.
"Um… right. OK." She knelt beside Izuku, offering her shoulder for him to lean on, which he took gratefully. She sat him by the center console, then left briefly to retrieve the train conductor, who wasn't in much better shape. The bearded man breath hitched as he leaned down to examine the controls, shaking his head in dismay.
"The electricals are fried. We won't be able to signal to change our course."
"Aren't there any emergency brakes on this thing?" Izuku suggested while nursing his side.
"We can't make an emergency break individually- it has to be something the folks back at the station give us confirmation for. It was part of the new train traffic laws they passed last year."
"What does that mean?" Jiro asked, finding it hard to swallow.
"It means we're all going to die..." The man suddenly slumped over, having passed out from the pain and blood loss he suffered through his leg.
"Green, oh god! What are we gonna do, Green!?" She looked up at her currently blue friend, disturbed by the emotionless mask he wore.
"No we aren't…" He began, standing suddenly.
"No we aren't...?"
"No one is going to die today!" He cried, zipping through the exit, and over the next couple minutes, had arranged everyone in the same train car, villains included (though they were bound together by the rope they had used to make them hostages earlier).
"Listen up everyone! This train is headed for an unintended stop! Which is why-" He extended his claws and pried the sliding door open, inviting a polar gust to blow back everyone's hair to the exposed air, "you all need to be ready for when I grab you!"
"Wait, you aren't going to throw us out are you!?" One kid looked panicked.
"Of course not! I'm running you outside safely, then I'm coming back to pick up the next available person, so get in a single file line!" He commanded militarily, which seemed to do the trick, as everyone wordlessly started following his lead.
"I'm starting with you!" Izuku pointed directly at the kid from before, leaving him no time to screech when the speedster picked him and hopped outside the train. Slowing down proved to be rather difficult, but he managed to find a nice groove, and came to a casual stop, setting the boy down. He gave him a shaky thumbs up as confirmation that he would be fine. Nodding, he raced back towards the train.
Running at such high speeds with a bullet lodged in one's side would really make someone reevaluate their life choices, as such a prime example was presented in Izuku. Each stride sent a riveting flare of pain throughout the rest of his body. Which was happening multiple times per second— so basically he was in constant pain as long as he ran— which he was also doing constantly. He sidestepped back into the train, narrowly avoiding being flattened like a pancake against a concrete pillar.
"Next person!" He snatched the closest person in relation to him, a middle-aged woman, thereafter zipping away.
Jiro watched with no hint of amazement, as Izuku Midoriya, the boy she had met no less than thirty minutes ago, was single-handedly rescuing an entire train's worth of people, which had to be around sixty— villains included. Despite knowing he was in excruciating pain, he pushed through it, disregarding his own well-being for the sake of everyone else's.
'So this is what it's like— seeing a true hero in action.'
Eventually, it was between her and the rigid form of a blind Shirai. She noticed Izuku's dilemma, and made sure to fix him with the most faux smile she could muster.
"It'll be fine Green. You can do him first. I'll still be here when you get back." Nodding to her determinedly, he made off with the villain.
Apparently Shirai hadn't had enough, seeing as he decided to headbutt the speedster currently saving him. The pair went flying across the ground, skidding and smashing into passerby objects. Tumbling to a halt, Izuku groaned, gazing behind him, focus spinning as he considered the bloodied-purple streak he left.
Shirai didn't look pretty either, coughing into his hands violently.
"Uh… gotta… get back…" He got to his feet.
He collapsed.
"So weak… tired…" He huffed exhaustively, as it appeared this alien's body was finally giving out on him.
He was on the verge of passing out, that is until his attention befell a signpost in his peripheral.
"Welcome to the city of Tokyo?" He blinked for a moment, forgetting why he was so confused— then abruptly shot straight up.
"Endeavor's agency is in Tokyo!" He slapped his face a couple hundred times to shock himself back into action, wobbling onto the train tracks and adopting an Olympic runner's position.
"Jiro is counting on me to save her! I have to go faster than I've ever gone before!" He rocketed off across the tracks, but he immediately could tell he wasn't moving as fast as he should've been.
"COME ON! FASTER! FASTER!" He hollered hoarsely, tears streaking behind him. With Slipstream's (he supposed that's what he's calling this transformation now) acute vision, he was able to zoom in on places far ahead of him. He noticed the tip of the spire that led to Endeavor's agency… with the train setting for it at a record pace.
Him snapping at his legs didn't aid him, as doubt began to infect his mind. Who was he kidding? He couldn't catch up now! He was too weakened by the bullet, if only he could just take the pain and remove it! Wait a second. There's an idea.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he stabbed himself with his claws, intent on extracting the offending wound-maker in raw detail. With an anguished scream, he yanked the metal from his chest, holding it out in front of himself like one would inspect a coin. Rough, ragged breaths puffed out in his rapid succession, his heart matching its lightning fast pace. The pain was immense, obviously, but he knew he could work better like this. Run like this.
He wasn't sure in what delirious mind state he was in at the moment, but suddenly all he could think about was how mad he was that All Might didn't think a quirkless person like him could be a hero. That made him absolutely livid. He thought of how proudly he declared to his mom that he was going to be a hero— no matter if he was quirkless or not! He wouldn't achieve his goal unless he gave it nothing but his sheer best!
'All Might never gave up! Even when he lost half his lung and stomach, he continued being the best! He's been the symbol of peace for as long as I can remember! It takes everything you got! Which means that I have to-' Izuku thought silently in fury.
"Push through the pain...!" He leaned.
"Because…!" His vision tunneled.
"Giving up…hurts MORE!" He roars, as a white halo envelopes him. The wind around him coalesces into a striped ring, trailing in a special proximity to him like a visible mocking shout of some sort, taunting Izuku— teasing him with its closeness, yet evasiveness. Nova-hot fire burned throughout his heart, fueling his desperate desire to save Jiro.
One more adrenaline/insanity boost from Slipstream coupled with the realization of all the time that had since passed, as he took some inspiration from Shirai, and proposed to himself a challenge: beat the bullet in a race in order to win.
He flicked the bullet in his palm, immediately sending it shooting forward at supersonic speeds.
Now. With a guttural shout, he heaved with his entire might and being.
Spectators watching from their helicopters were in awe as they witnessed the black and blue hero not only break, but surpass the sound barrier.
Izuku rationed the moment he had as he was sprinting beside the bullet he flicked off his index claw earlier, matching it's speed, before then smugly passing it up.
"I hope you still have those earplugs in Jiro!" He announced, forgetting that he was currently moving faster than sound travels, meaning his voice was instantly meters behind him, unable to catch up.
He entered the train the millisecond it flew off the tracks. Three seconds were spent climbing through the first five cabins. Five and a half seconds were played out by dodging and maneuvering around fallen luggage and clothing that threatened to slow him down or obscure his vision. Two seconds later, his arms were firmly wrapped around Jiro, preparing the girl for the sudden jolt his movement would cause. Utilizing an impressive corkscrew spin, then knowingly dodging a literal bullet— of which he was the origin— he was able to eject them both safely outside the train. He landed in a busy intersection, instantly taking off again, weaving through traffic and pedestrians.
Unable to curse him out, she simply cocked her head backwards, witnessing the Endeavor agency go up in flames.
'Huh, not sure if that's actually a good or a bad thing?' before mentally slapping herself upside the head. 'How can you be so insensitive! There were probably people in that building!'
She might ever so slightly have a dark sense of humor that tends to come out in stressful situations.
So yeah this counted!
She was being chaperoned around the city by this guy who was faster than she could hear. That was an accomplishment in itself. The experience might've been cooler, too, if it didn't make her want to puke terribly from the constant pressure caused by g-forces. As if sensing her mental plea, he stopped them right next to a public trash can.
After she was done exhausting her guts, she whipped on the alien boy, intent on giving him an earful, before seeing the state he was in, then immediately regretted having that as her impulse reaction. In whatever… form he was in, he wasn't looking good. His side, below where his rib cage may have ended, was a purple bullet hole wound that was lightly gushing fluid.
Somehow, her gag reflex managed to kick in again, as she found herself going in the bushes this time.
Wiping the edge of her mouth for any lasting hint of sickness wasn't something she wanted to be on the forefront of her mind, so she did the logical thing and scolded him.
"Green! What the hell! Thanks for saving me and everything, but you need to go to a goddamn hospital! Don't worry about me! I'm alright now! And by the way, where'd you drop me off-" She blinked in stupor upon seeing the name in bold letters.
"...Aldera." Green chuckled raspingly, ignoring Jiro's comment about seeking medical attention, flinching as he applied pressure to his wound.
"I know it'd be really embarrassing to be late on your first day of school- even if you're just entering l-later in the year." He mused. "So when I knew I was on that runner's high, I rushed us back here as soon as I could."
"But, like, what about the people in Endeavor's agency!?" She openly gawked at him now, uncaring how cartoonish she may have looked to passersby.
"D-don't worry about them. There were emergency units around the agency long before the train collided with it. Trust me I s-saw them. It's likely there was enough time to get everyone evacuated from the building and brought to a safe location."
"OK, sweet! But look at you! I'm calling nine-one-one on you if you refuse to run yourself to a hospital, don't kid with me I know how fast you are!"
"J-Jiro I-I can't-!" He stuttered, looking apprehensive upon seeing her reach for her cell.
"Can't believe I didn't think to call anyone while we were on the train earlier. Ugh." She made to hit the numbers, before promptly scowling as the device disappeared from her hands.
"Super speed doesn't give you the right to be a super dick! Come on, I'm trying to get you help here! You clearly need it!"
"Jiro, I'll give you your phone back if you promise to not call nine-one-one on me. I am going to be fine. I don't need to heh…" He wheezed unexpectedly, which didn't serve to better his case, "...I don't need to go to the hospital. They're too expensive, my mom can't t-take that kind of burden on for me, we're just barely getting by as it is..." He shook his head somberly.
"But… Midoriya." She said his real name this time, holding the blue matted hand that had rescued her just a few minutes ago.
"You're hurt. Like, really bad!"
"I've had worse." He dismissed it lamely.
"Excuse me!? You were shot! What could be worse than that!?" She threw her hands up flippantly.
"...That's not important. What is important is that you're on time for your first day of class! What time is it?"
When she answered him, his one good eye widened considerably.
"You need to go now!"
"What the hell about you!?" She demanded.
"I-I'll just drop you off at your classroom. I-if you show me your schedule I can-"
She all but slapped the paper into his face, prompting him to carefully extract the hidden contents from her grasp.
"O-oh! What a coincidence!"
"Oh boy, I wonder what kind of coincidence this could possibly be!?"
The alien boy faltered for a moment, unsure of what undertone she had used there in order to properly respond. So he just quietly supplied:
"We're in the same class..."
"OH BOY!" He jumped a little when she raised her voice.
"Haha, indeed?" He shrugged, though immediately regretting it.
She sighed defeatedly.
"Ok, I won't call nine-one-one on you." She muttered, crossing her arms rebelliously.
He sniffed at the exchange.
"Thank you, Jiro." He smiled, handing her cell back.
The next second saw them in the middle of a school hallway, causing the punk girl to stumble a little bit out of dizziness.
"Dude! Warn people when you're about to do that!"
"Noted."
"This is our class?" She pointed at the door, her previous worries about making first impressions long since shoved down in her mental, 'laundry basket of things she didn't need to give a shit about.'
"Yeah, you'll be fine! Besides, everyone is nice- f-for the most part." He stuttered briefly, before signing over his head.
"I'll catch up! Don't worry about me! Trust me!"
There it was again. That word. Trust. Midoriya seemed to expect a lot of things out of her today, and trust seemed to be the biggest one. He hasn't failed to deliver thus far so she supposed if she had to take a gander…
"Alright. I trust you. Go fix yourself or whatever- see you in class. Soon." She angled a light glare at him, and he actually had the audacity to grin sheepishly about it.
"Thanks!" He gave a bloodied thumbs up, before proceeding to zoom off to god knows where. This left Jiro alone in the hallway as she swung the door open to her homeroom class, gulping as she looked in.
Izuku sluggishly opened the door to the bathroom, before outright crashing to the tiled floor, reverting to his human form.
'If I take too much damage, or maybe if I'm too tired the Omnitrix will turn me back automatically?' Izuku wondered, palming numbly at the red covering his hand.
"Potentially fatal damage carries through transformations. Good to know." He observed, slowly passing out.
"...Have to take care of this..." He swiftly unbuttoned his jacket, having done this song and dance before hundreds of times throughout his schooling.
